


Wildest Wind

by gaylien_space_rock



Series: ZR Soundtrack Universe [3]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Female Runner Five, Gen, Spoilers for seasons 1-5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:26:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22108579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaylien_space_rock/pseuds/gaylien_space_rock
Summary: There's got to be a logical explanation for the voice Five has been hearing in her head.
Series: ZR Soundtrack Universe [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1542814
Comments: 2
Kudos: 6





	Wildest Wind

**Author's Note:**

> Song inspiration for this fic is Wildest Wind by IAMX.

_I’ll always be with you and I mean that very sincerely_

Runner Five was, to put it mildly, a little shaken hearing Moonchild inside her head again. She was even more unsettled about how she was so willing to follow her instructions, what if she could still be mind controlled? What if someone decided to use her as a weapon again? When she had first heard her, she nearly emptied her guts by the side of the trail. The whimsical, soft voice only reminded her of blood. Of murdering innocent people and feeling happy about it. It had taken months of therapy with Maxine for Five to accept that most of what had happened on the ship wasn’t her fault, but listening to Moonchild again almost put her back in that forest with Simon, realizing what she had done.

Fortunately, Five had a long run back to Abel to rationalize away this panic. According to weird-ghost-Moonchild, she had already told Five everything about the Edda before, Five just couldn’t remember because she had mind control onset amnesia, or whatever. It’s far more likely that the hypnosis just had Five hear her own memories in Moonchild’s voice rather than the actual Moonchild talking with Five. And Five was determined to do anything Veronica or Abel required of her to find a cure, personal safety or comfort be damned, so of course Five would do what weird-ghost-memory echo Moonchild told her if she thought it would be helpful. Finally, Five had found part of the Edda, the mission was a success and now Veronica was a little closer to finding the cure. It was irrational for Five to feel so uneasy.

Janine had run with Five back to Abel but she had been silent for most of the run, perhaps noticing a trace of something in Five’s face. Janine suddenly stopped running as they got close to the township sensing that Five had finished contemplating what had happened under the hypnosis.

“Runner Five” she said curtly.

Five stopped in front of the colonel and looked up for instruction.

“ Excellent job obtaining the Edda, that information will most certainly prove useful in our pursuit of the cure” Janine said in her usual clipped tone “I would also like to say that I’m very pleased I did not have to shoot you.” 

Five couldn’t help but smirk a little at the strained but sincere attempt at affection.

“That makes two of us, but I’m glad you were willing to carry out your promise, Colonel DeLuca” Five said, delivering Janine’s newly minted title with a wink. 

Janine rolled her eyes “To prevent any further miscommunications, please remember to reveal your status on comms next time.”

Five frowned. That _was_ weird. If Moonchild was just a memory echo, why was she so enthralled by her voice that she hadn’t been able to consider she should let comms know she wasn’t rogue? Five quickly decided that following that train of thought didn’t lead anywhere good and stopped it in its tracks.

“Understood Colonel” She replied. Janine nodded and the two of them completed the run to Abel.  
  


Veronica was the first to greet them as they came through the gates, practically sprinting up to Five. Paula and Maxine followed close behind.

“Do you have it?” Veronica asked excitedly

Five grinned and carefully handed the manuscript to her.

“Careful V, that thing’s hundreds of years old. If I know anything from the History channel, all it takes is a light gust of wind to turn one of these old books to dust” 

Veronica gently held the manuscript, carefully flipping through some of the pages. Five could see the gears turning in her head as she tried to figure out how to use this new tool.

“Thank you Runner Five, this will certainly be of use in my research,” Veronica said. Then she frowned in that puzzled way when she was trying to solve a difficult problem. In Five’s experience, the only problems Veronica really seemed to find difficult were people.

“I am sorry about the hypnosis” she began hesitantly “I knew it may have been...uncomfortable for you”

“ You didn’t have to do that Five” Paula said 

“ Yes I did Paula” Five responded “This cure is bigger than all of us, myself included”.

“How are you feeling Five?” Maxine asked. “ I know we’ve been making a lot of progress recently but I want to make sure this experience didn’t awaken any severe trauma from what happened last year.”

“I’m fine doc, it was uncomfortable but nothing I couldn’t handle. Besides, it worked and now we never have to do it again.”

“Well I wouldn’t entirely eliminate subjecting Five to hypnosis again if it would be helpful” Veronica chimed in. It took a couple moments of silence but the teenager caught on to the looks Paula and Maxine were giving her in response to that suggestion. “Or perhaps not” she said sheepishly. 

Five was now almost entirely at ease with what had happened. Just some lost memories that ended up being useful. She doubted that she would ever have to deal with Moonchild again. Perhaps, this would help give her some final closure after all, with the Ministry helping Abel, Maxine’s baby on the way and Veronica getting closer to a cure it looked like things might finally start to be going well for her and the township. 

————————————————————-  
  


Five reminded herself to never think things would go well for her again.

What she heard in the caves with Steve were definitely not memories, unless she and Moonchild had some _very_ specific conversations about caves. It would also be weird for a memory to muse on its own existence. 

“ _Aw, still thinking about me? You always did strike me as the sentimental type Five”_

Five felt her blood run cold and she stopped pacing the floor of her quarters. She really hoped that whatever this was, it wasn’t permanent because adjusting to the feelings that voice made come flooding back to her was a real pain. She clenched her fists and took in a shaky breath.

“You’re not real” Five said, unsure of who she was trying to convince.

_“Enlighten me then Five. You’re oh so resourceful, I’d love to hear your explanation of what I am”_

“You’re...you’re me” Five said, the explanation dawning on her as she continued to speak “I could have gotten out of that cave by myself, I’ve survived worse, but for some reason the stress of being there made me hear my thoughts as you.”

That explanation made the most amount of sense to Five. “Not Dying Against All Odds” was basically her profession at this point and her intuition had likely developed enough that she was able to investigate the rock pile on her own. 

The voice giggled “ _I think that’s one of the craziest things I’ve heard you say Five and we’ve gotten high together”_

“Well I know my brain better than anyone and it keeps on finding new and inventive ways to make my life difficult”

The voice sighed wistfully _“ Oh Five, I missed your dry sense of humor and endearing stubbornness so much. I’ll leave you alone now. Wouldn’t want anyone to catch you talking to yourself. Oh, and Five? Thanks for not telling anyone. You always were a good girl”_

Five tried to go to sleep that night but instead she lay in her cot, furiously trying to think of some way, any way that would explain the voice in her head that didn’t include Moonchild not being entirely dead. 

  
—————————————————————  
  


_“ What did I tell you Five? It all seemed a little too convenient”_

“Shut up” Five muttered, leaning her head back against the wall.

“ _But no, you didn’t listen to me. And now look where that’s got us”_

“Shut. Up.”

_“Shackled up in one of these punishment huts for Gaea knows how long. Probably betrayed by one of your closest friends and allies. And Ian’s god awful ring certainly left a mark on your cheek”_

“SHUT UP!” Five shouted “You’re not even real!”

Moonchild chuckled sardonically _“Again with this Five? I know you’re persistent but this is just denial, isn’t it honey?”_

“Don’t call me that”

_“Whatever you say, doesn’t change the fact that you know who I am. In fact, you’ve figured it out a while ago. You just can’t admit to yourself that I’m usually right, that there’s some benefit to listening to what I say and doing what I tell you to”_

“I don’t need you now, go away”

_“ You know I’m right. You’re clever Five. Everybody thinks you’re just a body, that you’re a weapon. But your little head works marvelously”_

“Says the person who literally used me as a weapon”

_“ Oh. So now you acknowledge who I am?”_

“Yeah, fine. I do” Five snapped “Mostly because right now there’s nothing better to do than to argue with the fucking ghost in my head. You can’t seem to shut up but I’ve yet to hear any semblance of an apology for trying to destroy the world. For what you did to me.”

_“ Why would I apologize for making you the happiest I’d seen you? When I met you Five I could feel the hurt emanating through every word you said. The loss touching your every action. When you were with me, you smiled again, you laughed. We had the best conversations Five. It’s really a shame I had to make you forget them all”_

Five felt sick.

“ You made me kill innocent people you fucking sociopath!” Five shouted, slamming one of her fists backwards against the wall. “You tried to make me kill my best friend out of jealousy! It took me months to feel like a person and not a machine. I couldn’t rest knowing that you were still out there, knowing there were more people made into weapons like me to fuel your fucked up Utopia. I cannot begin to describe the relief I felt when you died. My only regret is that I didn’t get to kill you myself!”

_“Ouch Five. Well I totally didn’t get that vibe from how you’ve been following my every order for months”_

“If I can’t get rid of you, I might as well use you. I think it’s quite fitting really.” Five said spite dripping from every word “You facing the consequences you thought you could run away from in life”

_“Then why not tell Janine? I’m sure she could ‘use me’ as you said”_

Five couldn’t come up with a cutting response to that.

_“ It’s probably because you realize how expendable you are to them. That’s why they sent you here, to this dangerous place where you would be doomed to failure. I hope you’re not expecting a rescue mission Five, we both know there won’t be one. If they knew about me, they wouldn’t hesitate to get rid of you. You’re nothing if you’re not useful to them”_

Five laughed dryly “I'm starting to doubt that you're actually Moonchild. Cause that really sounded like me”

_“ I think I’ll leave you for a bit to cool down Five. You’re no fun when you’re like this”_

Five waited in anticipation until about a minute of silence. She sighed and tried to make herself as comfortable as one could possibly be sitting shackled to a wall, awaiting imminent execution. She closed her eyes and attempted to enjoy the quiet while she could. No doubt Moonchild would be back again soon. 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Ghost Moonchild is such a bastard. I loved writing her.


End file.
